Alone in Form - Together in Spirit
by M-PBaseUnleashed
Summary: Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kiba, Temari, Tenten and Hinata are sent to Magnolia when Madara uses his Kamui to send the Allied Shinobi Force to another dimension. What happens when Naruto meets Natsu? When Tenten meets Erza? When Sasuke meets Rogue? Will they be able to figure out what Madara's plan is by sending them there, or will the stress break them down?
1. The Shinobi

M-P: Hey guys. I really love Fairy Tail. And I adore Naruto. So I was all like, why not? I hope you like it. First crossover. But you'll have to read Fear of the Beast Within to know who my characters are.

* * *

In the Leaf Village

I blinked in the sunlight. Gazing lazily at Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru, all of whom were dazily steadily on the grassy hillside beside me, I sat up. It was a sweet day in the Leaf Village. I had taken some time off my duties as Kazekage to get a 'break' as my sister had demanded. I smiled at the memory, then sighed. Sierra was still in the Sand Village, with the rest of our female friends: Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Misty, Amber, Cathy, Ro, Darcy, JJ and Ty. What were they doing, you my ask? I don't particularly know. But I do know that it was something that only they could do. I would never admit it out loud, but I missed her and Darcy. Darcy was loud, bright and the total opposite of me. Maybe that was why we got along so well. She could make me openly smile. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the wild middle-mist camellia. _Our flower_. She had shown it to me, and told me that it was the true flower of love. I had said nothing, for I still cannot fathom, nor project my feelings for her. Sighing, I squinted my eyes at the sun, thinking. I suddenly felt uneasy. Why, I did not know, but I knew that something was going to happen.

And soon.


	2. The Wizards

In the Fairy Tail Guild

I pushed Gray away suddenly, and sniffed the air. Something felt strange. I looked over at Gajeel and saw him glance at me.  
"You smell that, Salamander?"  
"Yeah." I nodded. Looking out through the open guild doors, I saw the sky turning cloudy. This wasn't going to be a normal storm. At that very moment, Wendy and Carla burst into the guild.  
"Everyone! There is going to be an majorly abnormal storm! Please, prepare yourselves!" Wendy stuttered loudly, her fear clear. For a storm to have _W__endy _flustered was bound to be a bad thing. I locked eyes with Gajeel again and he chewed his iron bolt thoughtfully before turning away. I sensed Gray and Lucy watching me.  
"Natsu, what's wrong?" Erza asked briskly. I looked at her and she lost her annoyed look.  
"Natsu? What _is it_?" I shook my head at her.  
"I dunno. But it's bad, and it's coming. Soon."


	3. It Begins

_A little further into the future._

I used my sand to block the lightning attack that Sasuke had just sent Naruto's way. The leader of the Akatsuki, Madara Uchiha was standing above us, on a tree branch, watching us fight impassively. Then he jumped away as he was attacked by a large gust of wind, which happened to carry a large array of weapons. My sister and Tenten, a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, appeared to stand on the branch that the Uchiha had just vacated. A shock of lightning was sent towards them, but were absorbed by a drawing of a large eagle. Sasuke glared at his Team Seven replacement, Sai, who gazed back with equally controlled hatred. From behind him emerged two lion heads made from chakra. Madara dodged again, landing a few feet behind Sasuke. They jumped away when the noticed a growing shadow beneath their feet. Both were standing still. You could feel the undiluted hate radiating from them, even though their faces remained inscrutable. The then moved out of the way, when two rotating figures sped toward them. They stood on some boulders quite a distance away. The rest of the ninja came and stood behind and beside me. Naruto, Tenten, Temari, Sai, Shikamaru, Hinata and Kiba all watched with trepidation as Sasuke leaped off his bolder and began to run toward us, his sword drawn, lightning beginning to light it up. Naruto began to dash toward him, and, on impulse, I followed. I sensed the presence of Hinata just behind me, and some more following. I was quite sure that all of us were chasing Naruto. At that very moment, Madara jumped up into the air. My vision was suddenly honed and twisted as everything around me zoomed and began shifting shape. Then, a white light burst behind my eyes, rendering me blind. Then I was falling . . . falling into nothingness.

Just falling.


	4. First Meeting

_At the Guild_

I looked out of the window. It was raining. Heavily. There was the odd bout of thunder and lightning. Lucy was hidden behind me. I'm guessing she didn't like thunderstorms.  
"Jeez, Natsu. So big, scary thunder doesn't do anything to you, but put you on a boat or a train and you're under the table?" She murmured with annoyance. I grinned at her frustration. Then something began happening. I sniffed the air once and looked around the guild, pausing to see Wendy hide behind Gajeel, who was also sniffing the air. Looking outside once more, I froze. The clouds were gathering, creating a dark, swirling circle in the sky. It was growing larger by the second. _It couldn't be . . . anima, could it?  
_"But . . . that's impossible!" I yelled. What compelled me to run outside, I don't know. But I did, and I'm not really sure that I'm glad that I did.  
"Natsu, what are you doing?!"  
"Where are you going, Natsu?!"  
"Oi, Salamander, the brat told us to stay inside!"  
"Natsu, please come back inside!"  
"Natsu?!" Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Wendy, Lucy and the Exceeds all called as they chased after me. I ran all the way to South Gate Park. Something was coming, and whatever it was, it was going to land there. I could feel it. I could hear all my friends calling out to me, trying to stop me. I didn't listen. I kept running and I didn't stop untill I reached the big tree. I was already soaked, but I didn't take shelter under the tree. Lucy caught up to me first. Gripping my arm tightly, she panted and began yelling at me, but stopped after she realised that I wasn't listening. I was looking up through the branches of the tree at the sky. The others had caught up and were panting behind us. I sensed all of them watching me, apprehensive. Then, a bolt of lightning shot through the branches. Lucy's grip on my arm loosened as she threw herself into my arms.  
"Natsu, let's get out of here. We'll be struck by lighting at this rate!" Another flash of lighting, she clung herself tighter to my chest, causing me to wrap my arm around her waist protectively.  
"Natsu!" She cried. I tightened my hold on her waist, but stayed.  
"Just a little longer, Luce." I murmured, hoping to reassure her. She looked at me, uncertain. I kept my eyes up. Then, I took three steps back, pulling Lucy with me. This time, the thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, blinding me. Pulling Lucy closer, I turned and shielded her body with my own.

* * *

When the light dimmed, I opened my eyes, and gasped. Lucy pulled her head away from my chest to look at what I was looking at. Her strangled gasp was enough for me to know that she was as shocked as I was. The others also let out their surprise.

Lying on the ground under the branches, were nine people, who were around my age, unconscious.


	5. First Name Terms

Gaara's P.O.V

I opened my eyes warily. What had Madara done to us? Lifting my head slightly, I felt the weight of something on me, but I ignored it, knowing that it was one of my comrades. Looking forward, I noticed a pair of sandaled feet and another pair of boot clad feet. Raising my head properly, I blinked at the face in front of me. It was of a young man around my age, with pink hair, acicular shaped eyes and a scarf that looked like scales. I blinked again.  
"Who are you?" He questioned. I think I sweat dropped for the very first time in my life. _What? No introduction, just a straight "Who are you?"?! _He was pushed out of the way by a blonde who knelt down.  
"Are you alright?" She asked softly. I continued to blink at her. She had golden hair and chocolate brown eyes. She also wore a belt on which a loop of keys hung on. I made a mental note of them. Sitting up properly, I slowly let Naruto, who was still out cold, slide down to the ground. I got up, and eyed them. The pink haired one came and pushed the blonde girl back.  
"I asked you a question." He growled. Looking him in the eye, I knew right away that he didn't want to fight, but he would if I made an incorrect move.  
"Gaara." I said. He blinked at me, then at something behind me.  
"Hey, where are you going?" I turned around to see who he was talking to. The figure that belonged to Sasuke paused.  
"Sasuke," I called, "where are you going?" He turned his head so that I could see one of his eyes.  
"Away from you." He spat, before walking off and vanishing in the rain. I kept my face impassive, but inside, I was reeling.  
"Look, I don't know who you are, but you shouldn't be sleeping out here in the rain. It isn't good for your health." A girl with hair that was very much the same colour as my own stated.  
"We need to get you warm and dry. Are these your comrades?" I nodded at her briskness. She reminded me of my sister. I looked over to Temari, who was lying beside Hinata. Rubbing my index finger and thumb together, I felt my jaw fall slightly. _My sand armour, it's gone! __Will my jutsu even_ work_ here? And where is my gourd? _I looked up at the expectant faces and tilted my head to one side. They didn't seem like enemies. Nodding again, I bent down and slung Naruto's arm over my shoulder. We were going to have to drag them back to wherever these people were taking us. The pointy eyed guy came up to me.  
"I'm Natsu, by the way. This is my best friend Lucy," he said, pointing to the blonde girl who had my sister leaning on her, Temari's fan clutched in her other hand.  
"This is Erza." He pointed his thumb in the direction of the girl with red hair and the top half of a suit of armour, who was pulling Tenten off the ground.  
"The guys over there are Gray and Gajeel. Gray's the stripper." He cocked his head in the direction of two young men, also around my age. Gray, the, er, 'stripper', glared at Natsu when he said this, before returning to carry Shikamaru. Gajeel had Sai in his arms.  
"The girl over there is Wendy. The white cat that's with her is called Carla." He glanced at a small girl with long blue hair and a cat with . . . wings who were pulling Hinata into the air, the cat keeping her in the air while Wendy carried her legs.  
"The blue cat is Happy and the black cat is Pantherlily, but you can call him Lily." Natsu finished, picking Kiba up and slinging his arm over his neck in a similar fashion. It was only then, that I noticed the dog nin that belonged to him. The two cats suddenly sprouted wings and pulled Akamaru into the air, the black cat taking the front, the blue taking the back. We walked slowly through the rain, the streets empty. This wasn't a village, I could tell that much. All the paths were covered in paving slabs and there was very high technology to be seen. I glanced over at the people who were helping me all had the same mark. Natsu had a red one on his right shoulder, Lucy had a pink one on the back of her right hand, Gray had a navy blue one on his left pectoral, Erza's one was also dark blue and the bottom of it peaked out of her armour on her left arm. Wendy had a light blue one on her right shoulder, Gajeel had a black one on his left shoulder. The cats all had one stamped to their back, the blue cat had a green one, the white cat had a pink one, and the black cat had a grey mark on his back. They all had the same mark. I suddenly became very wary. What do those marks mean?  
"Where are we going?" The question was out of my mouth before my brain even processed it. Natsu glanced over his shoulder at me and grinned. It was so open and kind, much like Naruto's. I instantly felt at ease. If he was anything like Naruto, then I would cope just fine.  
"We're going back to Fairy Tail!" He declared. I looked at him, and felt a smile tug at my mouth.  
"Fairy Tail? What's that?"  
"Our guild!" All of them yelled, whooping and suddenly picking up speed, I followed. We came to a stop in front of a large building some way out of the city, which had a sign with the same insignia that all these people had. _Oh, boy._

This was going to be very interesting when the others woke up.


	6. Meeting Each Other

After laying the others on the ground, I was led to a table. I sat down and looked over at Natsu, who had rolled over and was lying right beside Hinata. So, he was just sleeping, eh? I allowed myself a secret smile, before looking up the people who has assisted me, I let my smile drop a little.  
"Thank you for bringing us here. Can you tell me where we are?" I murmured, looking between Natsu and Erza to see who would answer first.  
"You're in Fairy Tail, our wizard guild! We already told you this!" Natsu grumbled in exasperation, making the other people near by laugh.  
"Wizard . . . guild? What exactly would that be?" I asked, confused. Everyone in the large room stopped speaking and gaped at me, nonplussed. I looked around, then looked down at my fingers on my lap under the wooden table. _What is it that makes them so amazed? Can they not see that I do not know where I am? _I glanced up when a small man, possibly as short as the Tsuchikage, if not smaller, came up to stand beside me. Even sitting down, I still had to crane my neck to look down to look him in the eye.  
"Young man, I have sensed a strange type of power surging from within in you and your friends. I am guessing that you are not of this world. Am I correct?" A gasp drop around various people caught wind of this man's suggestion.  
"Sir, are you the leader here?" I asked carefully, trying to gauge his reaction.  
"You could say that. I am the Master of this guild. My name is Makarav. What is your's, young man?"  
"It's Gaara. Right, Gaara?" Natsu interjected, grinning at me cheekily. I smiled, then winced as he was crushed by a gargantuan fist, which shrank to reveal the Master. I was suddenly on high alert.  
"You don't have to be wary of me, I'm just scolding him." He said, interpreting my look. I nodded slowly, not clearly understanding, but not wanting to show it.  
"As I was saying, I am Master Makarav, and this is a wizard's guild in Magnolia Town. We live in a Kingdom of this world, Earthland, called Fiore. Only 10% of all the people you see here in this town possess magic power. People who have this power come together and create guilds. Each of the members you see here all have magic power. Everyone here has an individual power, and they go on missions that are put on the request board. Some even have variation within their separate powers, like the Strauss siblings, Mira, Elfman and Lissana." Three people stepped out, two were females with porcelain skin and purely white hair, and a large, muscular male with darker skin, but the same white hair. Makorav continued,  
"Each of them can all do Take Overs, when they change their bodies and type of power, but each one varies. Lissana has Animal Soul, which allows her to take the form of any creature she likes, Elfman had Beast Soul, which lets him take on the form and strength of the beast he has defeated, and Mira has Satan Soul, where she can take on any form of the devil." I think I paled a little bit. Lissana changed into a large rabbit, Elfman grew even larger arms and horns, and Mirajane grew a tail, had a lightning zig-zag go vertically through her right eye. It was quite disarming, but they soon released their 'Take Overs' and returned to normal. I released a quiet and slow breath.  
"So, in this world, you use Magic. Is that correct?" All of them nodded proudly.  
"Is the insignia that all of you bear a sign of proof that you possess this Magic? Do all people that have Magic have this symbol on their body?"  
"Nah, this is our guild symbol, and to let people know that we are Fairy Tail, we wear the Fairy Tail insignia!" Makarav exclaimed, his pride, quite obvious.  
"So, all of you are wizards with magical power, and this is your wizard guild, Fairy Tail?" I repeated for clarification. The grin that all of them gave me was dazzling. It was only then that I realised that more of the members had gathered around me. My guard was up, but I wasn't as cautious as I previously was. That was, before I heard an angry growl and a bark. Some people cleared the way, and I saw Kiba, Naruto and Akamaru glaring around them.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Gaara, what the hell is going on here?! Who are these guys? Where are we? Did they hurt you?" Naruto wasn't in control of himself. I got up and walked up to him.  
"I'm fine. I know where we are now. These people helped me bring you here. We are safe, Naruto." I murmured. He calmed immediately. I turned to Kiba.  
"Are you alright?"  
"I'm fine." He muttered. I nodded at him. The others were slowly beginning to wake. Tenten, Sai, Shikamaru, Hinata and Temari rose one after the other, all wary. Once they were all seated, an awkward silence descended. I looked up to see both Naruto and Natsu staring at me, then each other pointedly. I sighed.  
"Fairy Tail, these are my friends, the shinobi. The one in the orange and black jumpsuit is Naruto. The young man with the large dog nin is called Kiba, his dog called Akamaru."  
"The lady with her hair in buns is Tenten. Shikamaru is the one with the spiky black hair, Hinata is the pretty girl beside him." Hinata blushed at this statement. Naruto continued, oblivious,  
"The pale guy over there is Sai. And the last girl over there is Temari. She's Gaara's older sister. She's older than all of us!"  
"Watch it!" Temari glared at him. I had to stifle my smile. Naruto looked back at me, nodding.  
"We are shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand." When I got blank faces I continued, trying to think of a very basic way to explain who we were.  
"We, are ninjas." I stated. Natsu's mouth could have been a vacuum, it had fallen to the ground.  
"Ninja?!" He looked starstruck. Lucy pushed him away.  
"Gaara, tell them who we are!" She inisisted. I nodded. Natsu was gazing at all of us in wonder.  
"This one here is Natsu. The girl with blonde hair is Lucy. Erza is the red-headed one in armour. Gajeel is the one with very long, spiky black hair. Wendy is the young girl with blue hair. Those cats are called Exceeds. The white one is Carla, the blue one Happy and the black one Pantherlily. Natsu says that Gray is the stripper, so he is the one without a shirt on." All the females blushed.  
"Master said that you have a strange power inside of you. Can you tell us more about it?" Erza asked, standing forward. My sister came to my side, placing her hand on her hip.  
"Are you referring to chakra?" Another round of blank looks. I stared at my elder sibling and we sighed simultaneously.  
"Chakra for us is probably like magic for you. We use it to help ourselves in day-to-day living. When we fight, we use up large quantities of chakra, and we usually have to stop before we run out completely. We train to expand the amount of chakra we possess." I explained patiently. They gaped at me. I looked over at the others, who nodded proudly at me. Gray looked curious.  
"So if your chakra is like out magic, what type do you use?" I shrugged.  
"Do you think our jutsu will work here?" Naruto asked. Gray exchanged glances with Natsu and shrugged. I looked over at the others.  
"Shall I try first?" The nodded rapidly. Turning back to the guild memebers I asked,  
"Do you have any sand?" Natsu nodded, and led us outside.  
"I think we should show you our jutsu out here, just in case." I muttered. Once outside, we came to a stop in front of a beach that was just out of the way of the guild building. Walking forward a little, I raised my arms. "Sand Drizzle!" The sand on the beach lifted into the air and formed a great clump, before releasing it as solid droplets. I turned around and saw the Fairy Tail members staring at me.  
"It seems we _can _use our jutsu here." Shikamaru observed. Kiba spun round and pointed playfully at the guild members.  
"So, you've gotten a peak at what we can do, what about you?" His challenge seemed to please Natsu, Gray, Lucy _and_ Erza. Natsu stood forward and his fist lit with flame. No handsign. It just appeared. Gray placed his left fist of his open right palm and a cage of ice, which he trapped Natsu in. Erza suddenly changed from her half armour costume to a full body suit, and Lucy took out one of the keys from her belt hoop. A young man appeared. I almost gasped aloud.  
"You can summon people?" Shikamaru asked, his shock clear. Lucy's confused look changed to one of exasperation.  
"No, no. Loke isn't a person. He's a Celestial Spirit." She explained, waving her hands about. Naruto came forward.  
"We have summoning too." He grinned, and bit his thumb. Blood began to ooze out of it.  
"Hey, there! There's no reason to hurt yourself!" Gray rushed to say, his panic obvious. We shinobi stared at them impassively. Naruto performed various hand signs and placed his hand on the ground. There was a puff of smoke and Naruto's place was taken by a large, orange toad. Lucy gasped. I think I was grinning. They were so naive when it came to what we do, even though they obviously knew about ninja. I pointed up, not bothering to look. They stared up and grinned. I looked too, and saw Naruto waving from the head of the toad.  
"Jeez, Naruto. What did you summon me for?" It asked. The wizards grimanced.  
"It spoke." Someone stuttered. I suddenly looked up.  
"Gamakichi." I called. He looked down at me. I felt everyone's eyes on me.  
"Yes, Lord Kazekage? What can I do for you?" He asked humbly.  
"When Naruto sends you back, could you return to Head Quarters and let them know that we are safe but are currently stuck in this world, Earthland? Please tell them that we are not sure how to get back yet, but will try to, as quickly as possible." He nodded and disappeared. I looked at Natsu when he groaned.  
"Going back? But you just got here!" He whined.  
"Why do you have to go back so quickly?" Wendy asked, her voice quiet and sweet. Tenten and Temari looked at each other, then said together,  
"Because, in our world, we are currently-" Naruto interjected,  
"In a war!"


	7. We'll Help!

I gaped at him, bewildered.  
"A war?" I asked. Gaara nodded at me, his expression impassive. I knew instantly that it was a topic none of them liked. A war? I had never experienced something like what I was feeling now. I was feeling confused rage.  
"Why are you even here, when your comrades probably need you right now?" I demanded, stepping towards him.  
"You think we let ourselves be sent here on purpose? We were sent here by an enemy that we were battling with!" Kiba, I think, growled back. We looked each other eye to eye, daring the other to look away. I was suddenly pulled away, as a small dagger whizzed past my face. The pale, quiet one stood staring at me, his eyes emotionless, like he was dead on the inside.  
"Sai, cut it out!" Naruto shouted, his face clearly displaying his annoyance. I paused, stiffening against Lucy's attempt to hold me back.  
"He made a threatening move toward a comrade. I am simply following orders, Naruto." He replied with a merry voice that was so hollow it could have given me a shiver, had I not a flame burning within me.  
"Natsu," Gaara began. I turned to look at him. "We need to return to our world, or universe, or wherever else we may be from. We are key figures in this war. Especially Naruto. He has a . . . gift."  
"What he means is that this entire war is because of me, so I need to fix this by helping everyone win!" Naruto interrupted urgently.  
"You mean _we, _Naruto." Temari interjected. Naruto shook his head, brooding. I felt something within me stir.  
"We'll help you." They all turned to look at me, as the guild members stared at me too.  
"You will?"  
"We will?!"  
"Hey, don't just go making decisions without asking the rest of us!" Gray grabbed me by the collar. I glowered at him.  
"Well, if I'd said I was gonna do it by myself, you would've come anyone, so cut the crap!" I snapped. I paused and sniffed the air.  
"What is that?" Several voices asked simultaneously, my voice among them. I looked round and saw Gajeel, Laxus, Kiba and Wendy all sniffing the air too.  
"You have a strong sense of smell?" I inquired.  
"Yeah, I'm a dog nin master." He said. I looked at him for a while, trying to figure out what he meant. After realising that I wasn't going to get it, he blew out a breath, and walked away. I could feel myself grin. He seemed familiar somehow.  
"Stay here." I called over my shoulder as I ran out of the guild, smiling broadly at the face palms and sweat drops behind me.

*0*0*0*0*

By the time I arrived back at the guild, my teammates had also returned, equipped with small bags for their possessions. Apart from Erza, who seemed to have her usual cart with her, earing some stunned glances from the, er, shinobi. Laughing freely, I turned my back on them and began heading to the front doors so that they wouldn't see my face. This smell that was lingering in the air was spiking my curiosity. Marching onwards purposefully, I made my way to the train station, but stopped when I came to stand a few feet looking directly in the eye of a young man around my age, with hair that was so dark it was practically black and eyes that were so green that you could mistake it for an intensified gem. He was just looking at me. I growled,  
"Who the hell are you?"


	8. First Steps

M-P: Hi guys! I've been having this weird dream where loads of characters from my fave anime- yes anime- all end up in a whole new world (no pun intended) and have to do something really cool and possibly scary, I haven't decided what yet, to get back to their own individual worlds. There's more information on my profile- at the very bottom. Do y'all think it's a good idea? Please review and let me know. And of course, please review this chapter as well. You are about to meet a very special group of people in the chapters to come. Enjoy! ^.^

P.S- I'm sorry for not having updating for a while. Gomen!

* * *

I walked up behind Natsu and paused when I noticed that he seemed to be having a stand off with a young man around our age. Standing stationary beside him, I eyed the stranger.  
"Gaara, do you know him?" the young pink haired man asked me. I shook my head, knowing that even though he wasn't looking at me, he understood me silence. I could suddenly feel my hackles rise when he grinned at us. It bothered me. Why, I didn't know, but I wasn't going to let this sudden spark of annoyance get to me.  
"Who are you, and what is your business here?" I questioned. He smiled.  
"I'm going to help you."  
"How can you help us if you're creeping us out in the middle of the street!" Lucy yelled, looking exasperated. He eyed her warily, his eyes glinting dangerously in the daylight.  
"I know how to get you home." I felt my stoic glare dissipate.  
"How?" Naruto asked, suddenly appearing beside me. The green eyed boy smiled at us, revealing his even white teeth.  
"One of you knows my name. Tell me my name, and I'll answer your question." My eyes locked with his and we stared each other down. A strange sound began to fill my mind, but it was so faint that I began to tune it out. He began to turn away from us, walking slowly.  
"Jake." He stopped moving and turned his head partially, so that only half of his face was revealed, his overlong black fringe moving to reveal his sparkling green eyes. All around me, my comrades and new allies faded out into silence. The guy cocked his head to one side.  
"Well done Gaara. You need to travel to a place you've been to before but forgotten in your memories. You may meet people who will provide you with clues, and you yourselves will also begin to remember things from a place that your brain forgot in the past. Follow your intuition and find the first person to give you your clue. Get the least intelligent amongst you to think first." His began to fade out as he walked into the crowd that had suddenly appeared. Or had it? The last thing I heard, as he raised his hand while he walked away, was,  
"You'll meet me again, don't worry. I'll help you when you figure out the last steps." And with that, he was gone, absorbed into the busy rush. Blinking, I traded blank looks with Natsu before turning around and glancing at the others. Shikamaru came over to place his hand on my shoulder, tugging me back so that we were standing a little further away from everybody else.  
"Well, that's me and Gaara out for the first clue." He murmured. Naruto glared at him.  
"Why would that be?" He challenged. Shikamaru shrugged, raising his hands in a dismissive gesture.  
"That Jake guy just said that the least intelligent among us should think first. Gaara, Temari and I over think things. We wouldn't be the best people to think of the first clue. But we can help figure out where we can find it." I nodded slightly.

*0*0*0*0*

"Right. He said that the least intelligent of us can help find the clues." Shikamaru began, standing in front of all of us.  
"So that means that the best candidates we have are; Naruto, Kiba, Natsu, Gray and Gajeel." Said candidates' mouths fell open as they all produced large sweat drops. I spoke up.  
"We aren't from this place, and our first clue is here, meaning that Naruto and Kiba can't help." Kiba exhaled with relief as Naruto gaped at me, before giving up and walking away. Natsu, Gray and Gajeel all turned and gathered around me. Shikamaru asked from his spot behind me.  
"Do any of you have any recollection of a place that you may have been to before, but haven't gone to in a long time?" Natsu's eyes began to widen as he searched in the depths of his memory, frowning at things long forgotten, before smacking his fist into his open palm. We all turned to him.  
"My house! We haven't been to my house for almost a year!"  
"But he said a place we have 'been to before but forgotten in our memories'. I don't see how not going to your own home for some time counts." There was a pause.  
"Why exactly do you not go to your own home?"  
"Cuz Lucy's house is better! Right Natsu?" Happy, the blue cat piped up, flying above our heads. Natsu nodded as Lucy dragged her hand down her face in exasperation.  
"Anyways, back to the matter at hand. What is it about your home that brings back memories?" Shikamaru returned to the original subject.  
"Behind our house, there's a forest, and we used to go there for fun. We stopped when I was old enough to go on missions, because it would take us days to get there and back." Natsu exclaimed, his voice raising as he recalled his past. I looked over at my sister, who had stepped forward and was watching with one hand on her hip. Not a good sign. Natsu was taking too long. With intense impatience and self-control, she spat out.  
Where's 'there'?" Happy looked over at her as though she was stupid.  
"The cave of Integrity."  
"Why do you call it that?"  
"We always vowed to be pure-hearted and honest when we went in, for when our adventures required it. Of course, we never had any- the cave was shallow. A solid wall with small carvings and images blocked our chances." Natsu added sheepishly, rubbing his finger under the bridge of his nose.  
"I was born in that cave." Happy finished, unnecessarily. _A wall with carvings and images? _  
"You make it sound as though they were put there before you discovered it, Natsu." I pondered quietly. The crimson haired man turned to me.  
"Huh?"  
"What exactly are these images of?" Temari asked, a little cooler now.  
"Well, they're . . . I mean, they look . . ." Natsu tried to explain whilst gesticulating, before giving up and scratching his head.  
"Well, you know. I can't describe 'em." We all sighed in exasperation.  
"So w-why don't we just go there so that we can s-see for ourselves?" Hinata finally spoke up. Naruto grabbed her into a hug.  
"That's a real good idea! Thanks Hinata!" He shouted happily. Hinata, still puce from his embrace, nodded with a minute smile. I glanced over at Natsu.  
"Would it be alright for us to go to this cave?" I asked softly. He paused for a second, before blinding me with his dazzling smile.  
"Sure! It's this way!" He turned and marched dutifully to this cave.

*0*0*0*0*

We were now standing around an opening. Peering inside, I took note that it was indeed shallow- to small for anything of major significance. But- these images . . .!  
"These are-" Kiba's voice was strained. They were pictures of all of us present, at a young age. They were old and worn images, with strange coloured slashes going through the parts that one might use to identify a person, but these were undoubtably images of us: Naruto, Temari, Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Sai, myself. We were all lined up, with a strange shape under our feet. On top of us was another group of young children, these ones resembling the members of the guild present also: Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel, and the cats, too. Below us were drawings of another group of young children, this set we didn't know, but one distinguishable one had spiked orange hair. Below _that _(A/N-don't be frustrated, just setting the scene!) was a set of children, these who looked quite strange: one was blonde with strange eyebrows- well, I can't really grip, considering that I don't have any of my own, one with bright green hair and three wooden swords, a little girl with cunning brown eyes, a small boy with a long nose and a small boy with a worn straw hat. Why were these images here? And who exactly are these other children? Judging by the artwork, if those were drawing of us at around the age of six or seven, and those other children looked around the same age, then- if they exist, they'll be around our age. Instinctively, I reached out and ran my fingers across the image of myself, my mouth open as I inhaled quietly.  
"Wha-?" I gasped, and stood back, staring at the image of myself, the slashes which had started glowing.


	9. A Brother Appears

M-P: Many of you, may have noticed that Tenten and Sasuke's images were not included on the wall. I didn't forget on purpose. They have special roles to play in latter chapters. Just sit tight for me, yeah? Good job on taking notice if you did! ^_^

* * *

It was crimson, the same colour as the tattoo on Gaara's forehead. He looked as though he was frozen. I stared at his picture. It was still glowing, albeit very faintly. I glanced above Gaara's head and touched the image of myself at a younger age. It also started to glow, a strange, orange-red colour, like my flames. I pressed my hand over that weird shape underneath my image. It looked like a contorted flame. I let out a cry, when my whole hand went straight through the wall.  
"Natsu!" Lucy and Wendy yelled, shocked.  
"Help!" I shouted with surprise. The wall had practically began eating me. I shot my nakama a pleading look before my head was swallowed by the wall.

*0*0*0*0*

The other side of the wall was deeper, colder and way darker. I held my hand in front of my face, right in front of my eye and I _still _couldn't see it. I frowned in the darkness. A strange sound, like a small boulder being pushed somewhere, started behind me. I pivoted and stood, ready.  
"Huh?"  
"Who's there?" I called.  
"Naruto." The annoyed voice replied. "Natsu, why's it so dark in here?"  
"How the heck am I supposed to know?" I muttered.  
"Why don't you just use your fire, idiot." A voice snapped. I jumped, then glared around myself.  
"Gray?! Who the hell invited _you_?" I grumbled crossly. One by one, the others entered. The only one that wasn't present was that Tenten girl, the one who handled weapons like Erza.  
"Why's it so damn dark in here?" Gajeel muttered.  
"Natsu, why don't you use some of your, erm, magic, to make a flame?" Temari asked, talking to a direction that was adjacent to me. I grinned, and rubbed my head sheepishly.  
"Oh, yeah! I never thought of that!"  
"I bet you didn't." Lucy, Temari and Gray growled at the same time. I held up my fist and let a flame light it up, only to jump about four feet into the air, when I took note of that guy's face, the one who was pale, right in front of me. A little closer than intimate, really.  
"Sai, what the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, annoyed, as I cowered behind Wendy, who looked a little concerned. Naruto looked at me and I allowed my flame to grow. He turned round and banged on the wall which we had all come from.  
"Tenten! Tenten! Can you hear me!" A faint thud sounded on the other side. I nodded at Gajeel and he came to press his ear against the wall.  
"She said she can." He relayed her message.  
"Tenten, we're in some kind of cave! If you can, jump on top of it and follow it to the end, we'll see if we can meet up!"  
"She said she understands. She's gone." Gajeel stood up, and walked back to us.  
"So, what do we do now?" I turned to gape at Sai.  
"You can talk?!" I screeched, pointing at him. He smiled, humorless, at me. _Creepy._ I turned to Gaara, who was standing with him arms crossed over his chest.  
"We go to the end of this cave and meet up with Tenten, since that _is _what Naruto said." He finished, cutting his eyes at the orange clad ninja. Everyone turned to stare at me. There was a long pause, as they all waited.  
"What?" I asked, confused. Lucy dragged her hand down her face and marched forward, grabbing me by the arm, a little off my flame and tugged me deeper.  
"Make your flame bigger so we can see better, you idiot!" She muttered, marching me along. I stumbled after her and permitted my flame to enlarge itself. I could now see that the cave was full of long dead branches, why, I didn't know, but I picked one up, snapped it in half, lit the top of one and handed it to Lucy, the other to Gaara. Soon everyone held a branch with a medium sized flame on top. I let my fire grow more vibrant on my fist as I led the way.

*0*0*0*0*

"That Jake guy. Does anybody know who he is?" Hinata asked quietly. I frowned.  
"If I'm totally honest, I'm not sure how it was that I knew his name, but it was like I had met him before." Gaara murmured. I nodded.  
"Me too," I agreed. "I don't remember meeting him, but I felt a sense of familiarity towards him."  
"That's weird." Gray said. "Especially since he seemed a little antagonistic toward us." We all murmured our agreement. _Blip-ip-ip . . . _I paused, causing Gray to bump into me.  
"Natsu, what the hell?!" He barked out, surprised.  
"Shut up, stripper!" I snapped back. "I can hear something."  
"What is it, Natsu?" Shikamaru asked, coming to a stop beside me.  
"Oi Salamander, Wendy . . ." Gajeel walked a little in front of me. I nodded and took a deep breath and yelled as loudly as I could.  
"OI, IF YOU'RE THERE, SHOW YOURSELF!" Lucy smacked me across the back of my head.  
"You idiot! What if it's an enemy?"  
"No, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." I pivoted towards the voice.  
"Show yourself." Naruto called out. Out from behind a large moss coloured boulder stood the same boy who had said he knew how to get us home. Only . . . he was slightly shorter, had light brown hair, large brownish caramel eyes and a younger, more mischievous twinkle in his eye.  
"Jake?!" Erza muttered, eyeing him suspiciously. He laughed, a jolly, boy-to-man laugh. His voice was also a little higher pitched than Jake's.  
"Nah, I'm not Jake. I'm his youngest brother. I thought you might get stuck with the weird clue my brother gave you, so I came here to wait for you. I'm Nate." All gaped at him, eyes sticking out of our sockets.  
"EH?!"


End file.
